The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a multifunction printer, a copying machine, a multifunction peripheral, which prints print data on a recording paper and outputs the recording paper to the outside.
The image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a multifunction printer, a copying machine, multifunction peripheral, installed in a convenience store or the like is available by paying a charge for utilization thereof by a user. It is common that the charge is paid for every time a sheet of paper is printed. A discount coupon available in the convenience store or the like is issued every the previously set number prints. It is customarily carried out as service for a user.
It is general that the discount coupon is printed in a separate sheet. However, the use of a technique disclosed in the typical technology allows printing of a recording paper using a margin area of the recording paper to be output. In the image forming apparatus of the typical technology, the apparatus identifies the margin area of image data to be printed and composes advertisement image data on the identified margin area.
If the discount coupon is printed on the margin area of the recording paper to be output and issued, as shown in FIG. 5A, the discount coupon is printed on the margin area of recording paper to be output every previously set number of prints. In FIG. 5A, a case is shown in which a document of 5 pages is copied and printed by 3 copies and the discount coupon having a discount amount of 10 yen is issued every 5 printing sheets. In this case, the discount is printed on a 5th page of each copy and issued to a user. However, since it can be a case where some user don't want to print the discount coupon on the recording paper, it needs for printing of the discount coupon on the margin area of the recording paper to set to be unavailable. Nonetheless, if printing of the discount coupon on the margin area is set to be unavailable, it is unable to make use of function of printing the discount coupon by using the margin area of recording paper, even if there exists a part (1st copy) on which the discount coupon can be printed using a margin area of the recording paper, as shown in FIG. 5B.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, a case where copy printing is performed, aside from the part (1st copy) on which a user wants to print, and parts (2nd and 3rd copies) on which the user don't want to print, a discount coupon is printed on a 5th page of a 1st copy. As a result, a discount coupon is not issued to the 2nd and 3nd copies, it becomes impossible for a user to be able to get benefits in accordance with the number of printing prints.
A charge is different depending on a copy type (monochrome or color), and a charge for color printing is set so as to be higher than that of monochrome printing. If a monochrome document and a color document are mixed, the copy type will be set to either of monochrome or color. However, if the copy type is set to color, the monochrome document is counted as color printing. This will result in paying a wasted charge. For that reason, a tendency becomes stronger that a user endures to degradation of printing quality and selects printing in which a copy type is set to monochrome. Thus, it was often the case that even if the image forming apparatus has a feature of color printing, the color printing is not used effectively.
FIG. 9 shows an example in which a discount coupon is printed on a margin area of a recording paper to be printed and issues it when a mixed document (30 pages) where a monochrome document (24 pages) and a color document (6 pages) are mixed are copy printed, a discount coupon is printed on a margin area of a recording paper to be output. Note that a charge for monochrome printing is 5 yen per page and a discount coupon having a discount amount of 10 yen is issued ever 30 printing sheets. Meanwhile, a charge for color printing is 30 yen per page and a discount coupon having a discount amount of 10 yen is issued per 5 printing sheets.
FIG. 9A is a printed matter in a case where the copy type is set to monochrome. In this case, the total charge amounts to 150 yen and a discount coupon of 10 yen is printed on a margin area of the 30th page. FIG. 9B is a printed matter in a case where the copy type is set to color. In this case, the total charge amounts to 900 yen and 600 yen (the difference of 25 yen between a monochrome document of 24 pages X color printing and monochrome printing) are wasted. In this way, a discount coupon of 10 yen (total 60 yen) is respectively printed on 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th pages and due to this handling of the discount coupon becomes complicated.